


Traditions

by atonalremix



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/M, Post-Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-26
Updated: 2015-12-26
Packaged: 2018-05-09 11:49:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5538755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atonalremix/pseuds/atonalremix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Every year without fail, Sora buys Kairi a Christmas cake to share - and this year's not going to be an exception. Twilight Town's gotta have her favorite cake in the entire world, right? (Spoilers for KH3D)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Traditions

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! This fic was my contribution to the KH Secret Santa over at tumblr (specifically, this is for [pewycert](http://pewycert.tumblr.com/)) and I figured, what better way to celebrate than to look at how Sora might celebrate Christmas - and how those traditions may not carry from world to world. 
> 
> There are spoilers for KH3D in here, so please proceed with caution! Not so much for the plot of the game as for the post-KH3D ending, which assumes that you know how Kairi'll be involved by the time KH3 finally rolls around. (Also, there's a bit of Hayner/Olette in here if you squint, but it's not obvious - so take it either way!) Many thanks to my friend [Kukki](http://archiveofourown.org/users/kukki/) for betaing this for me, and I hope you enjoy!!

Kairi was taking way too long to finish her last lesson. If she didn’t come out soon, she was going to be late – and honestly, Sora had been waiting a while for her already. As he tapped his feet against the front steps of Yen Sid’s tower, he let out a sigh. Come on, Kairi! Christmas Eve traditions weren’t going to fulfill themselves!! 

See, every year without fail, Sora and Kairi celebrated Christmas Eve together. Kairi would brew sweet iced tea, while Sora would buy a cake from one of the corner bakeries – a light sponge cake topped with strawberries and filled with cream – and watch Kairi devour it whole. Her eyes would light up like stars right before she would whisper her thanks, and in that moment, Sora knew he was home. It had become a long-standing tradition, like opening presents with family or writing out lists to Santa, and Sora wasn’t going to break it for anything. Not even for Yen Sid and his training from hell. 

(Well, technically, _Riku’s_ training from hell – but Sora knew better than to say that out loud.) 

He glanced down at the clock on his cell phone. If he hurried, he could head into Twilight Town and buy her that cake. That could work. Twilight Town had way more bakeries. Surely one of them sold Kairi’s favorite cake, even if it was the day before Christmas Eve. 

To Riku and Kairi, he texted:

Heading into town for a last-minute thing! If I’m not back by the time you’re done, wait for me!! ( ≧Д≦) 

“Alright,” he said to himself as he pocketed his phone. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

 

 

He should have remembered – two days before Christmas, the crowds were impossible. Given a choice between this or Heartless, Sora would’ve taken the Heartless. He could whack his way through Heartless, but no Ars Arcanum would let him pass swarms of shoppers. Legally, anyhow. Sora couldn’t even hear himself think over the echo of their footsteps.

No wonder his parents finished their shopping early… Sora could barely tolerate crowds at home, and the Islands were far smaller than Twilight Town. The people here reminded him of home, especially the school kids still wearing their trusty uniforms. Sora couldn’t quite help a smile as he passed a few groups of them. 

A long time ago, all the worlds had been one, fragmented only by Xenahort’s greed and ambition. Little threads – like common holidays, and of course, the keyblade bearer – wove them together. Nearly every world had their own variant of Santa too. (Agrabah was the lone exception, with a lunar holiday called Eid Al-Fitr).

In hindsight, Sora wished he had asked Santa how he delivered presents to King Triton, because even Ariel and Prince Eric were hanging up stockings for their “Saint Nick.”

After tonight, Riku, Sora, and Kairi would head home together for the holidays. King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy had been making Christmas plans all week, and well – Sora almost envied them. For the first time in three years, they wouldn’t join him for Christmas dinner. King Mickey had his Queen, Donald had a sweetheart, and Goofy had a young son that wanted his father home. Sora knew his parents missed him, and Riku and Kairi were only too happy to (temporarily) return to their old routines after years of travel. 

Yet some small part of him longed to weave some new traditions. Cake with Kairi, presents with Mom and Dad, and then maybe a dinner with Donald and Goofy and the whole crew? After they defeated Xehanort for once and for all (because it was a when), he’d suggest it for real. Life was way too short to celebrate important holidays apart. 

Cake came first, though. Sora should’ve seen one of them by now. Even convenience stores sold them! They were the North Star of Christmas desserts, reliable even under the murkiest of circumstances. Twilight Town should’ve had more than enough to spare!

So where were they? Hidden behind those giant displays for “yule logs” and “panettone?” Sora peered at a display. The cakes looked promising, but one small problem: this bakery had a line around the block. Whatever they were selling, it must’ve been popular, because he could even see Rai and Fuu waiting in line. Sora shook his head fondly at them before moving on. 

The next bakery was closed – so much for extra business – and the one after that didn’t even sell cake. They had these weird molded cookies, sold together on platters, and gingerbread cookies, and even gingerbread houses. No Christmas cake. 

“You’ve gotta be kidding me.” Sora ran a hand through his hair as he scanned the display for the third time. How could every bakery in town manage to miss the one thing he got Kairi every year? 

Before he could pester the cashier, a familiar voice said, “Sora!” 

There, in the corner of his eye, were Olette and Hayner, also appropriately decked out for Christmas in warm winter coats and festive red and green scarves. Sora’s entire expression softened; of course he’d run into them. When in Twilight Town….

Sora rushed to embrace them, ignoring the snow on their shoulders. “Olette! Hayner! Long time no see!”

“It’s so good to see you!” Olette giggled as she pulled away. “What’re you here for? This is like, the craziest shopping day of the year.” 

“Says the girl dead-set on those last minute sales.” Hayner sighed, glancing back at the crowd behind them. “Pence was smart and stayed home. Wish I could’ve just marathoned TV with him.” 

Sora muffled his laughter with his gloved hand. “I wanted to buy Kairi a Christmas cake. There wasn’t enough time to buy one back home, but I figured, Twilight Town’s got way more bakeries, so….”

Hayner and Olette exchanged uneasy glances. For a few seconds, all Sora could hear was the scraping of cookies and the chatter of shoppers until—

“A what?” Hayner furrowed his brow. “Do you mean like, fruitcake? Or one of those yule logs?” 

Sora folded his arms. “Nnnno. You guys know what a Christmas cake is, right? They used to be on every street corner." 

(Twilight Town must’ve been suffering from a serious shortage, because he hadn’t seen one since he got here.)

“Never heard of it.” Hayner pressed his lips together. “Maybe we call it something different. What does it taste like?”

“Um, it’s a sponge cake, and it’s got cream in-between its layers, and then you top it with whipped cream and strawberries.” Sora mimicked frosting a cake as he explained it, gesturing towards the display. “I saw chocolate cakes, and something called red velvet, but nothing with strawberries.” 

“They’re kind of hard to find this time of year,” Olette admitted, tapping her chin as she glanced over at the display. 

The crowds were only growing worse, and Sora couldn’t come back empty-handed. Not when he had a tradition to fulfill. Kairi wouldn’t look like the stars, and he couldn’t watch her inhale cake whole, and then he’d cry when opening presents with Mom and Dad and—

He took a deep breath. No use in worrying his friends. When he returned to the Tower, he could steal some of Donald’s magic and whip up a cake from thin air. “So how do you guys celebrate Christmas?”

Olette’s smile grew wider. “We make Christmas cookies, and we’ll sing carols, and on Christmas Eve around midnight, we’ll go to mass and stuff.” 

“I’m sure he does the religious stuff too, Olette,” Hayner said with a sigh, folding his arms. “You don’t need to bring Jesus into this.” 

Sora tilted his head to the side. “Who’s Jesus?” 

Hayner and Olette actually stepped back. Their baffled expressions said everything that their gaping jaws didn’t – whoever this Jesus guy was, he was important. Sora should’ve learnt something about Twilight Town Christmas, and yet, here he was, questioning their world view.

“Um, nevermind.” Sora rubbed the back of his neck. “So your Christmas cookies. What kind do you think I should get for Kairi?” 

“Ooh, they’re for Kairi?” Olette’s eyes lit up, almost like stars, as she clasped her hands together. “In that case, you should get Springerle cookies. They’re these anise cookies that are decorated all romantic-like and—“ 

“ _Olette_ ,” Hayner’s voice was pleading as he pulled her back. “Come on, you don’t even know if they’re dating.” 

Sora had to admit, “We’re really not.”

He’d dreamt about it a million times, though. Sharing an umbrella together, holding hands in public, maybe even dancing together in some fancy ballroom – he longed for those little moments. Everyone else got to have them, even Hayner and Olette, and here he was, hoping that maybe someday, he’d have a decent shot. 

Hayner was already stifling a laugh at him, so Sora tried to salvage what remained of his dignity with, “I mean, uh—”

Olette shot Hayner an equally smug smile. “Springerle cookies. We’ll even get them shaped like those paopu fruits Kairi told us about.” 

Without another word, she pushed towards the front of the line and said something to the cashier. The cashier rushed into to the back, the line behind them dispersed, and--and Sora had to admit, he was impressed. Remind him to never, ever mess with an angry or determined Olette in the near future!

To Hayner, he said, “Does she do this often?” 

Hayner let out a low whistle. “All the time. I’ve gotta tell you, man, it doesn’t get any less impressive.” 

 

 

An hour later, Sora, Hayner, and Olette left the bakery with a tall, ornate box filled with Springerle cookies. Some were shaped like paopu; some were shaped like hearts; and even more had molded scenes from Twilight Town’s history on them. 

“Merry Christmas, Sora! I’m sorry we couldn’t help more,” Olette said, turning towards the train that would take them home. 

Hayner nodded in agreement as he pulled back. “Yeah, tell Roxas we said hi.” 

A pang of sadness flooded through Sora’s heart as he watched them disappear into the crowd. “You heard that, Roxas?” Sora let out a small laugh. “One more reason you deserve to be your own person.” 

He couldn’t hear Roxas’s voice – not when the crowds were this loud – but he could sense the relief in his bones. At the moment, it was enough of an answer. 

As he took the train back to Yen Sid’s tower, he pulled out his phone again. One unread message from Kairi:

Hurry back soon, okay?? I’ve got a surprise for you ⌒°(ᴖ◡ᴖ)°⌒

Sora laughed at the emoticon before he hastily texted back:

I’m coming as soon as I can! Hang in there a little longer o((*^▽^*))o 

 

  

When he arrived at the tower, Kairi was sitting on the front steps. As she scrolled through pages on her cell phone, he could hear her whisper, “Come on, come on…. he said he’d be here any minute….”

“Playing that cell phone game again?” He called to her, lowering the box so he could see her better.

She glanced up at him, blinking back surprise as she took in the box of cookies. “Sora! What on Earth did you get?” 

Sora didn’t have much time, not if he was gonna convince Donald to magic up a cake, but he figured he should tell Kairi a half-truth. “You know how I always get you Christmas cake? I went into town, but as it turns out, they don’t make it here. Olette and Hayner told me that couples get each other these anise-flavored cookies, and I kinda thought….” 

“You didn’t have to,” she said, taking in a breath as she reached out for the cookies. 

Instead, he set the box down and pulled her closer to him. “But I _wanted_ to, Kairi. It’s the one tradition we have together this time of year, and I made a promise. I don’t break those so easy.” 

“I know you don’t.”

When they were this close, with mere inches separating them, he could seal the distance with a kiss. He’d dreamt about this moment for years – but as long as the fate of the world hung in the air, he didn’t feel right about it.

So he stepped back, rubbing his elbows as he tried to look anywhere but her starlit face. “You said you had a surprise for me?” 

She pointed up at the floating sprig of mistletoe above them (an Aeroga spell?), before she kissed him square on the lips.

Wait, she was kissing him! Actually kissing him!! Sora stared at her for what felt like forever before he caved to his instincts and returned that kiss with all of his might. 

This couldn’t be real. This was some dream, ripped straight from a Dream Eater’s manual, because his first kiss? Here, two days before Christmas??? So not possible. 

Except Kairi was holding onto his shoulders too close. Her grip jolted him back to reality and—oh. Oh God, that just happened.

“Well, that was half of it,” Kairi said with a sigh, licking the edge of her lips. “I wanted to make my usual tea for you, but as it turns out….”

“Let me guess: Twilight Town doesn’t do iced tea.”

“You got it.” Kairi’s cheeks turned a slight pink as she latched onto his hand. “So I had to make do. I brewed this hot Ceylon tea that’ll go well with your cookies. Yen Sid said that we can use the tower’s kitchen, and uh – I hope you don’t mind, but I invited everyone to join us.” 

Good thing Olette had convinced the store to part with their entire stock of Springerle cookies. One Christmas cake wasn’t going to feed this crowd!

Sora’s expression softened as he intertwined his fingers in hers, “Of course not! How’d you get them to stay?” 

“They wanted to. Plus, it’s Christmas, and you know….” Kairi levitated the box with another Aeroga spell before opening the double doors in front of them. “They’re our family too. Why wouldn’t we celebrate with them?” 

“We wouldn’t,” Sora pointed out as they headed up together. “We’re ohana now, and ohana means you never get left behind.” 

Before they opened the door to Yen Sid’s study and joined everyone, he pulled her in for another kiss. This may not be the tradition he’d wanted – or even the one he had asked for – but he figured, some of them were always meant to be broken.


End file.
